Preparing your CV (resume) for an internship application

Your CV is your chance to grab the potential employer’s attention and demonstrate what they will gain from employing you as an intern. A CV is effectively a “sales document”. Imagine you are marketing yourself like a product, be sure to highlight your strengths and provide the evidence to prove it to show how the organisation will benefit from your skills and experience. Usually the most effective CV format for an undergraduate student is the chronological CV, which clearly details your experience in reverse chronological order, most recent first.

What to include:

• Personal details – imagine your name to be the headline or title with your contact details as the sub-heading, ideally in bold. Include full name, contact address, telephone number and email address, date of birth and nationality.
• Profile – summarise your selling points; mention what you are studying, your key strengths and skills, relevant experience, internship field of interest and career ambitions. This should be a short, concise paragraph.
• Education – detail your academic experience since the age of 16, most recent first. Include dates, name and location of institution, level of qualification, subjects studied and grades achieved. For your degree, mention two or three classes relevant to your chosen internship field.
• Work experience (paid and/or voluntary) – include dates, job title, name of employing organisation, main duties/responsibilities, skills demonstrated/your style or approach (how you carried out your tasks?) and result or achievement. Where possible, quantify your results.
• Key skills and achievements – include knowledge and experience of Information Technology (IT/computing), foreign language ability, any awards or outstanding achievements etc. Mention anything you feel is essential to your application that is not mentioned elsewhere on your CV.
• Interests – this section offers the employer the chance to find out more about your personality, you as an individual. Try to be a bit different, avoid just saying “Socialising, reading and going out with friends”.

General tips and advice:

• Be concise – ensure that every sentence counts and includes relevant information, avoid vague, general statements; be specific. Your CV should be a maximum of two pages.
• Be eye-catching – ensure the CV is clear, easy to read, using bullet points to separate sections of text. Use bold for headings.
• Be positive – use active verbs in the past tense to emphasise what you did, for example organised, managed, coordinated, analysed etc.
• Be honest – always provide evidence for your claims.
• Be knowledgeable – research and identify the skills required for your chosen field and clearly describe examples where you have demonstrated those skills.